


When There's Only One Bed

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5800525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When there are aren't enough hotel rooms in a city they're working in, Spencer and Derek end up rooming together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Unfortunate Circumstance

**Author's Note:**

> This is super, super cliche jfc. But I'm digging using these tropes ngl.

“You two are going to have to room together,” Hotch says, gesturing to Derek and Spencer, and just like that, Spencer is thrown into ridiculous amounts of internal turmoil. 

Having a crush on his coworker is ridiculous, and Spencer knows it.  He’s used to having crushes on far away, distant people- scientists, celebrities, fictional characters, writers- who he never had to interact with.  It’s a pretty easy thing, even if he gets lonely sometimes.

Turns out being lonely is way, way better than having this bizarre teenage-esque crisis where he has a huge crush on Derek.  It’s ridiculous, and even though Spencer fully acknowledges that, he can’t shake the fluttery feeling away.

The way that Derek grins and slings his arm around Spencer’s shoulders, saying, “We’re going to have fun,” certainly doesn’t help matters any.

Spencer smiles back weakly.  “Sure thing.”

The case proceeds as normal for the most part.  Except Spencer’s brain is irritatingly stuck on the fact that he’s going to spend the next few nights sharing a room with Derek.  He pushes it out of his mind as best he can, though, because they do have a case to solve.

It ends up working almost too well, because he ends up forgetting about the unfortunate rooming situation until they both end up in front of the room they’re sharing.  Spencer lets them into the room, suddenly feeling his stomach flip uncomfortably and his hands shake just a little as he turns the door handle. 

“You alright, kid?” Derek asks.

Working with hyper observant people is a pain in the ass sometimes.

“I’m fine,” Spencer says, occupying himself by fiddling with his luggage.

“I think you need a drink or two,” Derek says.

Spencer shakes his head.  Alcohol is not what he needs right now.  What he needs is to have his own room.  Or at least a room with two beds.

“We have to work on the case tomorrow,” Spencer says.

“You lightweight,” Derek teases before sobering up.  “You just seem tense.  Is your mom okay?”

“She’s…” Spencer struggles with an answer and then just shrugs, turning to face Derek.  “She’s herself.  She’s doing well.”

“Then what’s up with you?” Derek asks.

“Tired,” Spencer says.  “I’ll take the couch and turn in early.”

“Kid, it’s only seven, and you don’t have to sleep on the couch.  The bed is more than big enough for the both of us,” Derek says.  He’s giving Spencer a look like he’s being stupid, which is a look that Spencer is pretty used to.

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Spencer says because it’s easier not to argue.

Derek looks at him hard, and Spencer does his best to look like a person who definitely isn’t desperately hiding a crush on anyone.  It should be easy, considering that’s how he looks most of the time, but he has no idea how successful he is.  Probably not very.

At least Derek doesn’t say anything else to him, just shakes his head.  He grabs something out of his bag and heads towards the bathroom. 

A minute later, Spencer hears the shower running and he exhales hard.  At least he has a few minutes to collect his thoughts.  He’s an adult; he can handle staying in the same room as Derek for a few days.  All he has to do is stay calm. 

The fact that most people find him a little strange will hopefully work in his favor for once.  If Derek sees him acting weird, hopefully, he’ll just assume that it’s because Spencer is weird.  Hopefully. 

Spencer shakes his head and changes into his pajamas while Derek is in the shower.  He stretches out on the bed, trying to look at ease. 

Maybe it’d be easier if something was on the tv?  He flicks on the tv, flipping through the channels and growing increasingly agitated.  Every channel seems to be playing some sort of romantic comedy.  Spencer tries in vain to find a movie playing that’s not devoted to two people staring hopelessly at each other, but it’s seemingly impossible. 

Reluctantly, he settles on ESPN because even if he doesn’t care about sports, it’s better than watching heartfelt love confessions.  He stares at the tv, not really watching it. 

The shower stops running and Spencer focuses on the tv that much harder.  It’ll only be a few minutes until Derek-

Damn it, Derek is quick and already opening the door to the bathroom, striding into the small shared bedroom.  He looks over at the tv and then back to Spencer with a raised eyebrow. 

“You’re watching the game?” Derek asks.  “I didn’t know you were into basketball.”

“I’m not,” Spencer says, still staring at the tv.  “But there’s nothing else on, so I figured you’d want to watch sports.” 

Derek smiles at him- it’s a good thing that Spencer’s not looking directly at him because that smile could be enough to make him lose his composure- and leans over to clap his shoulder.  “That’s nice of you, man.”

Spencer nods a little.  “The Lakers have won more games against the Knicks than vice versa.”

Statistics are easier than feelings.

“Okay, how do you know that?” Derek asks. 

“It was research for a side project I was working on,” Spencer says.  “They’ve played each other 267 times and the Lakers have won 156 of those times.”

Derek stretches out on the bed beside him, making a soft whistling noise.  “They would love you on ESPN.”

“I think I like my current job,” Spencer says, nodding while keeping his eyes on the screen.

“I definitely wasn’t suggesting you make a career switch; we’d miss you,” Derek says, nudging him gently.  “But I’m just saying, you could definitely lever that to get on ESPN for a guest appearance.”

Spencer snorts.  “I don’t think I’d do well on a sports show.  I don’t even know most of the rules.”

“It’s a pretty simple game,” Derek says. 

“Explain it to me?” Spencer says, so then he doesn’t have to have an actual conversation with Derek.

As Derek starts to explain the rules of basketball, Spencer discovers a whole new problem.  Derek has a really nice voice.  Smooth, soothing, and suddenly Spencer could listen to Derek talk all day about anything.

It makes sense that he hasn’t noticed this before.  After all, usually Spencer hears Derek talk in work situations.  Spencer had been focused on what Derek was saying, not what he sounded like.

Now all Spencer really has to focus on is the sound of his voice.  So now he’s noticing exactly how silky Derek’s voice is.  A million clichés pop into his head and he dismisses them as insufficient.  He wishes he had learned to deal with crushes like normal kids did, back in high school.

“Thanks for the primer,” Spencer says when Derek is done with his explanation.  He fake yawns and stretches.  “I think I’m going to turn in.”

Derek raises his eyebrow.  “Come on, kid.  Did I bore you _that_ badly?  You know, I’ve never actually gone to sleep while you were talking.  Rude.”

Spencer smiles weakly, daring to take his eyes away from the screen to actually look at Derek.  “You weren’t boring.  I’m just tired from the plane ride is all.”

“You sure?  It’s still pretty early,” Derek says.  “We haven’t even had dinner.”

“I’m not hungry,” Spencer says, shifting so he’s under the covers.  “I’ll eat breakfast.”

“I was going to order a pizza from room service anyway.  I’ll put a few slices for you in the fridge, just in case you wake up hungry in the middle of the night,” Derek says.

“You don’t have to-“

“I know, but you need to eat.  If you don’t eat them, they won’t go to waste, so no worries,” Derek says. 

“Thanks, Derek,” Spencer says.

“No problem,” Derek says, giving him a small smile.  “Now, goodnight, pretty boy.”

Spencer swallows hard.  That’s one nickname he’s never minded. 

“Goodnight, Derek,” Spencer says, turning his back on Derek and closing his eyes. 

Spencer knows that he’s in for a long night of lying next to Derek pretending to be asleep. 


	2. Nighttime Blues

Derek is a smart guy and he knows it.  He’s no super genius like Spencer or Penelope, but he’s still pretty damn smart- everyone in the B.A.U. is.  Part of his job is to get into the heads of other people (terrible people) and he’s good at it. 

But for the life of him, he can’t get a decent read on Spencer tonight.  Normally he wouldn’t even try- he knows how annoying it is to have your profiler coworkers profile you- but he was jumpy all night and he’s been pretending to sleep for three hours now. 

Derek thinks it’s his fault at first, so he tries to keep from disturbing Spencer.  He watches the television on mute, turns off the lights, and eats his pizza as quietly as he can. 

But Spencer’s breathing never evens out, so clearly it’s not Derek keeping Spencer up.  Or maybe Spencer isn’t actually tired and just… doesn’t want to talk to him? 

The idea makes him feel surprisingly unhappy.  They have a good rapport in the field and Derek genuinely enjoys spending time with him.  The kid is strange, but a good person and FBI agent, with one of the biggest hearts that Derek has ever seen. 

It worries him, sometimes, but mostly Derek just likes spending time with Spencer.  He makes him happy. 

Derek considers saying something to Spencer so he can ask why he’s pretending to sleep, but decides against it.  He doesn’t want to push Spencer over something like this.  As long as it doesn’t affect how they interact as colleagues, it’s not actually his business. 

He puts the slices of pizza for Spencer in the fridge like he promised and then crawls back into bed beside Spencer.  The bed is big enough that there are a few inches between them, but Derek can still hear his uneven breathing, loud in the quiet room. 

Derek stares at the back of Spencer’s head, only slightly visible in the dark room.  He wants to know what’s going on in that brain of Spencer’s. 

But they also have a murder to solve, and Derek needs sleep to be able to help.  Not to mention that staring at the back of Spencer’s head won’t actually help him figure anything out.  He’ll just have to pay close attention to Spencer’s behavior when he gets the chance over the next few days.

Sighing softly, (Spencer shivers as Derek’s breath brushes against the back of his neck) Derek closes his eyes and pulls the covers up.  He lets himself drift off to sleep, feeling pretty good despite the confusion that he’s feeling.

* * *

 

Derek nuzzles his face against the softness in front of him.  He’s still half asleep, but he feels really warm.  Or maybe that’s whatever warm thing that he has his arms wrapped around. 

When he pulls whatever his arms are wrapped around him closer, he hears a soft squeak noise.  His eyes fly open and he realizes that the warm thing is Spencer.

Shit shit shit shit.  Whatever was bothering Spencer last night, pressing their bodies against each other is probably not going to make him feel more relaxed.  Especially not while unconscious.  What had been a pleasant wake up suddenly has his adrenalin pumping.

He can’t tell if Spencer is awake or not, but Derek starts carefully detangling himself from him, not wanting to wake him up on the off chance that he’s still asleep.  Hopefully, they can pretend this never happened even if Spencer is awake.

Derek is doing pretty well at detangling, even if Spencer is slightly heavier than he looks, when Spencer’s breath hitches and his body goes rigid. 

“Spencer?” Derek whispers, not sure if he’s hoping for some kind of reaction or not.

His breathing is uneven again, like it was when he wasn’t sleeping last night, but there’s no reply. 

“Sorry,” Derek whispers as he finally manages to get his hand out from under Spencer’s ribs. 

Silence. 

Derek looks at the bedside clock; he still has another couple hours before he has to get up.  He turns his back to Spencer and closes his eyes, trying to fall asleep. 

Now they’re both lying there in the darkness, pretending not to be asleep.  It’s weird, especially because he can still feel how warm Spencer was.  And how soft his hair was.  How nice it was to wake up like-

These aren’t thoughts he needs to have about one of his coworkers. 

After a few minutes, Spencer gets up.  There’s rustling from somewhere on the other side of the room and then the bathroom door closes. 

Derek tries to get back to sleep now that Spencer isn’t in bed with him anymore, but he can’t.  He’s thinking about how he unconsciously decided to snuggle up to his coworker when they had to share a bed together.  He’s thinking about how that coworker was Spencer, who, yeah, he enjoys working and hanging out with, but he hadn’t thought of doing anything else with. 

Unfortunately, now that he’s started thinking about other things that he could do with Spencer, it’s surprisingly hard to stop.  This is a dumb and pointless exercise, but he can’t stop himself.

Once he gets out of bed.  Then it’s done with.  It’s just a little indulgence, not anything serious.

Derek continues to lay there, hoping he’ll fall back asleep because he can’t get up yet.  He hears the shower turn off, hears Spencer come back into the bedroom. 

Spencer sighs, something rustles, and sighs again.  He walks towards the bed, pauses.  Eventually, he grabs something and rushes out the door, just barely keeping the door from slamming shut. 

Derek exhales a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding and stretches out on the bed.  Suddenly, things are a lot more complicated than he ever wanted them to be.  Hopefully, he hasn’t made Spencer too uncomfortable.


	3. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is now my most kudos'ed fic on ao3 so just, oh my god, thank you so much!!! to everyone who is reading and enjoying and commenting sagdhjhkfdlf I feel slightly overwhelmed.

Spencer is glad that none of the local police find it remotely suspicious that he’s at work a couple hours early.  He can just sequester himself in a corner with the case files and work.  It’s nice because if he’s thinking about the case, he’s not thinking about Derek.

He had hoped that he would avoid doing anything too stupid while staying in the same room as Derek, and he had failed spectacularly fast and in spectacular fashion.  Snuggling up to Derek in the middle of the night while they were both sleeping is definitely not a good way to keep his feelings discreet. 

At least, he has some time before he has to face Derek again.  He has no idea if the fact that they won’t be alone is good or bad. 

Derek won’t publicly reject him, Spencer knows that.  It’s good to know because Spencer has been publicly humiliated more than enough times already.  He doesn’t particularly want to be publicly humiliated at work, especially because it’s the first place where he really feels like he belongs. 

So if they’re with the group, he doesn’t have to have any uncomfortable conversations with Derek. 

But honestly?  It’s not the actual rejection that he’s worried about.  It’ll be awkward, uncomfortable, and unfun, sure, but that’s to be expected.  He’s worried about how nice Derek will be when he does it. 

There are cruel ways to reject someone and there are kind ways.  Maybe it’s just him, but Spencer has always preferred being rejected meanly.  It’s really easy to stop having feelings for someone who has shoved you in a locker in utter disgust.  It’s much harder to stop having feelings for someone who lets you down softly.  Sometimes, it even makes it worse.

Spencer knows that Derek isn’t going to shove him into a locker, metaphorically speaking.  He’ll let him down slowly, kindly, and probably make him fall even harder for him. 

At least he can spend the first few hours of his day huddled in a corner, not needing to face any of this.  And maybe secretly, he’s focusing less on this case and more on what it felt like to wake up to Derek’s arms wrapped around him. 

Before the abject panic set in, it was a good way to wake up.  Derek was warm against Spencer’s back, and Spencer can almost imagine that Derek had pulled him closer.  Had liked being with him. 

This is a pointless train of thought, and he knows it, so he refocuses himself on the case files in front of him.  That’s where he can do some good.

It’s another hour before anyone else from the team shows up at the station. 

He doesn’t even notice when JJ plops next to him until she nudges him.  Spencer looks up at her and gives her a tight smile.  “Morning, JJ.”

“You haven’t been here all night, have you?” JJ asks. 

“Nah, just an hour or so,” Spencer says, checking the wall clock.

“Why’re you here so early?” JJ asks. 

“I didn’t sleep that well last night,” Spencer says, shrugging and (hopefully) feigning nonchalance. 

“Ooh,” JJ says, eyebrows waggling.  “Does Derek snore?  I bet he snores.  He seems like a snorer.”

Spencer shakes his head aggressively as he does his best to hide behind the file he’s reading.  “No snoring.”

“Then why couldn’t you sleep?” JJ asks. 

Spencer can feel JJ examining him even through the files, so he shrugs again.  “The people next door were loud.”  He feels bad lying to JJ, but he also doesn’t want talk about this.  And he knows that JJ will want to talk if she knows the whole story.

“Emily and I were the people next door,” JJ says skeptically.  “We weren’t that loud, or up that late.”

“Other side?” Spencer asks, looking at her pleadingly.

“Hotch and Rossi?” JJ asks, arching her eyebrow at him.  “Look, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk to me.  Sometimes, it’s just hard to sleep in a new place.”

Spencer nods.  “Yeah.” 

“Are you okay, whatever the problem was?” JJ asks.

“I’m fine,” Spencer says.

“You know you can talk to me, right?  Even if it’s something personal,” JJ says, squeezing his arm.

Spencer smiles genuinely.   “I know.”

JJ sighs and shakes her head.  “I worry about you sometimes, Spence.”

“You don’t have to worry.  I’m fine,” Spencer says.  “Really.”

JJ’s concern makes him feel kind of dumb for stressing out about his situation with Derek.  They’re here because of a killer; that’s where everyone’s attention should be.  Not worrying about him.

“That’s good,” JJ says, not sounding particularly convinced.

“Besides, I’m not the only one here earlier than they need to be.  You’re here before we’re meeting up, too.  Are you alright?” Spencer asks.

“I have to get a jump on the press somehow,” JJ says.  “Usually the best way is to try to be up before them.  It’s easier in a smaller town like this, at least.”

“Wanna work over here?” Spencer asks. 

JJ smiles and nods.  “I'd like that.” 

They work quietly in the corner together, no one giving them a second glance as they start to filter in.  It’s the nicest, least stressful part of this case for Spencer so far, and it helps him calm himself down a little bit.  While he doesn’t want to talk to anyone to help sort through his feelings for Derek, if he did, he’d want to talk to JJ.

So Spencer is feeling pretty calm, until, of course, he looks up to see Derek working on something across the room.  He slowly looks back down at his file, hoping to avoid drawing Derek’s attention, but Derek looks up at him right then.

Spencer feels his spine stiffen as his fight-or-flight response kicks in.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t do either as Derek bites his lip and turns fully towards him.  All he can do is sit there as his heartrate increases. 

“Can we talk for a minute?” Derek asks, voice low. 

Spencer looks up at him and nods because he can’t come up with a good excuse as to why not.  He stands up, setting the file down on the seat. 

JJ catches his eye, frowning at him in clear confusion. 

Spencer flashes her a strained smile as he stands back up, hoping to reassure JJ that he’s fine, even if he’s not sure if he is. 

He can feel JJ’s eyes on his back as he follows Derek towards a hallway. 

“Spencer…” Derek starts, looking at him seriously.

Maybe it’s cowardly, but Spencer’s stomach drops out and he realizes that he doesn’t want to have this conversation right before they start the day.  There’s no good time to have this conversation, but right before they have to spend all day together working is probably even worse than average. 

“Who won the game?” Spencer cuts in, pleading with Derek to drop this for now. 

“What?” Derek looks momentarily thrown. 

“The game!” Spencer says with false chipper-ness.  He’s never been this chipper about anything in his entire life.  “The Lakers game.”

Derek frowns at him, just a little, and Spencer can see how much he wants to say something, to brush his obvious misdirection aside. 

“The Lakers won,” Derek says.  “So now that’s 157 victories over the Knicks for the Lakers.”

“Good for them,” Spencer says, nodding a little.  “That’s almost sixty percent of the games.”

“It’s a good win percentage,” Derek says hollowly.  “You know, Spencer-“

“Everyone gather up!” Hotch’s voice comes from the room behind them.  “We have some new information.”

“Duty calls,” Spencer says, suddenly even more grateful for Hotch than ever.  He looks away from Derek and starts to back away.

Derek sighs and nods.  He follows Spencer back to the main room. 

The whole team and the locals assemble in the main room of the precinct.  Spencer is careful to avoid eye contact with JJ as he joins the group.  He’s also careful to keep a few steps away from Derek, to avoid making him feel uncomfortable. 

Spencer breathes a sigh of relief as Hotch assigns him to work a geographic profile: that’s something he can work on alone.  He knows he’ll have to face Derek tonight, and he’ll do it. 

But for now, he’ll enjoy his maps.


	4. Disconnected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay in updating. I've been crazy sick this week, which meant that typing (and thinking) was a super slow affair.

Derek watches as Spencer works with his maps in the far corner of the room.  He still has a few minutes until he can talk to the latest victim’s family, so he doesn’t actually have anywhere to be right now. 

Spencer had been so damned jumpy when he asked to talk.  Like he was scared of him.

Derek hadn’t realized that he had upset Spencer that badly.  It had been an honest mistake- they had been unconscious when they had snuggled up together, after all. 

That their accidental late snuggling awoke romantic feelings for Spencer is something that Derek was planning on keeping to himself unless something very unexpected happened.  Now, there’s no way that he’s going to say anything. 

But now that he knows how he feels, he can’t help noticing these little things about Spencer that he hasn’t noticed before.  The way his mouth hangs open just a bit while he’s pouring over his maps.  How his awful taste in clothing somehow looks good on him anyway.  His fingers tapping against nothing as he comes to some conclusion and leans down to scribble something out. 

“Derek, can I talk to you?” JJ’s voice pulls him out of his reverie. 

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Derek says, trying to recover smoothly.  “What’s up?”

“Is everything okay with Spencer?” JJ asks.  “He was here early this morning and he was jumpy.  He said he just couldn’t sleep last night, but I thought it might be something else.”

Spencer was awake?  For most of the night?  Or maybe he just lied to JJ.  Honestly, this is all too confusing.

JJ nudges him.  “Hey.  Are _you_ alright?”

“Yeah,” Derek says.  “I’m just a little jet-lagged.”

“We only went one time zone over, and we do this every week,” JJ says.  “Both of you are really bad at making excuses.  Did something happen?”

“No!” Derek says, shaking his head.  “I ordered some pizza, watched the game, and then went to bed.  Spencer went to bed early, and that’s it.”

JJ looks over at Spencer and Derek follows her gaze.  Spencer is scribbling furiously on a pad of paper, back turned to the both of them. 

Derek flushes when JJ clears her throat, realizing that he’s watching Spencer with a little smile on his face.  His face only flushes further when he looks over to see JJ looking at him with a knowing look. 

“Talk to him,” JJ says. 

“I will,” Derek says.  “Once we get back to the hotel.  I don’t… I don’t think he wants to talk right now.  I have to talk to the latest victim’s family anyway.”

“Good luck,” JJ says, squeezing his arm as she turns to leave.

“Thanks,” Derek says, smiling at her. 

Spencer looks up from his work and over at Derek.  His eyes widen and he inhales sharply before turning back to his maps hurriedly. 

Derek sighs and checks the clock.  He still has some time before the victim’s family will be here.  There’s no way that he can just stand here and watch Spencer, so he finds some busy work to do until the victim’s family comes.  There’s always paperwork to do in a job like this.

* * *

 

Derek gets held up late at the precinct they’re working out of and comes back to the hotel room that night to find the lights off.  It’s not surprising- he had watched Spencer leave a few hours ago, ducking out nervously and refusing to look at anyone.

 He closes the door quietly, gives his eyes a second to adapt to the dim light filtering in through the window, and then looks around for Spencer. 

The bed is empty, so Derek keeps looking.  His eyes flick over to the bathroom, but the door is open and the light is off.  But Spencer’s bag is resting on the desk, so he’s obviously been back to the room, and it’s not like Spencer would ever hit up the local nightlife, even if they weren’t on a case.

He takes a few steps over so he can see the couch, and sure enough, there Spencer is, curled up so he’ll fit.  Tonight, Spencer seems to be truly asleep, mouth hanging open and breathing evenly. 

Derek feels bad that he’s panicked Spencer so badly that he’s scared him away from the bed.  That was, obviously, never his intention.  He never had any intentions.  God, somehow he messed everything up.

Hesitantly, he scoops Spencer up.  Sleeping on the couch is really uncomfortable, and considering this is all Derek’s fault, he should be the one who sleeps on the couch.  Derek is surprised at how light Spencer is, and it’s easy to carry him over to the bed. 

“I’m sorry,” Derek murmurs as he lays Spencer down on the bed carefully.

Spencer shifts a little, and Derek is worried that he’s woken him up.  But he just turns on his side and exhales gently. 

It’s funny.  They’ve fallen asleep together on planes more times than Derek can remember.  But he’s never taken note of… cute Spencer is when he’s sleeping.  He relaxes, stays still, in a way he never does when he’s awake.  That genius brain taking a break for once. 

Derek realizes that he should stop this train of thought before it really gets going because these feelings aren’t going to go anywhere. 

He changes into his pajamas in the bathroom and lays down on the couch, regretting giving Spencer all the sheets.  At least he still has the pillow.

As he lays down to try to sleep- regretting that he’s not going to be able to talk to Spencer tonight- he realizes there’s a problem with using Spencer’s pillow.  Okay, two, considering it’s kind of damp. 

The pillow still smells like Spencer.  It’s a weird mixture of sweat and whatever scent it is he uses in his shampoo.  Derek knows that he could figure it out with a few more whiffs, but he refuses to analyze it further.  Deeply inhaling Spencer’s scent seems a little weirdly intimate.

It’s not easy to fall asleep that night, and the fact that the couch is too short for him is the least of his worries.  He’s trying to figure out how to make sure that he can confront Spencer before they go to work tomorrow.  It’s not ideal, but there’s no way they can have another awkward on the case like that- it’s only luck that Hotch didn’t pair them up today, or that they didn’t spend more time together as a group. 

If they had had to actually work together today, it would’ve undoubtedly been a disaster. 

Derek shifts uncomfortably and sighs.  Everything has turned upside down overnight, and all because of something that only happened on complete accident.  At least with how uncomfortable the couch is, making sure he’s awake when Spencer gets up isn’t going to be a problem.


	5. Break on Through

Spencer stretches and then pauses because something isn’t right about that.  Then he remembers.  He fell asleep on the couch and the couch isn’t big enough for him to stretch out on.  At some point, he ended up in the bed, even though he definitely wanted to avoid that.  If he can avoid the bed and Derek for the rest of the trip, maybe they can pretend that his dumb crush doesn’t exist.

Before he can wonder how he got to the bed, he gets a flash of arms carrying him and of a gentle, familiar voice saying “I’m sorry” to him.  He had thought it had been a dream- no one has carried him anywhere since he was very small (kidnappings and near death experiences notwithstanding)- but considering he’s curled up in bed, it must have happened.

The only person who could’ve brought him to bed is Derek.  Spencer opens his eyes and slowly turns over, relieved when he doesn’t find himself staring at Derek.  At least they’re not going to have a repeat of yesterday. 

Spencer gets up quietly, sighing in relief when he sees Derek fast asleep on the couch.  All he has to do is shower quietly and they can avoid talking for another day. 

He takes the quickest and quietest shower of his life, not even bothering with hot water.  As soon as he’s washed himself, he jumps out of the shower and gets dressed.  All he has to do is go out, get his shoes on, and go find somewhere to eat breakfast.  He can do that.

Except when he leaves the bathroom, Derek is sitting up on the couch, blinking.  And as soon as he sees Spencer, he gets up.

“Spencer, we have to talk.  Before we go to work,” Derek says, standing near the door with his arms crossed.

“We really don’t,” Spencer says, shaking his head emphatically. 

He can feel his heart beating faster as he looks around desperately for a way out of the room.  The prospect of trying to physically wrestle Derek is unappealing, as is diving out the window.  Both of them are likely to end with him in the hospital.  Maybe he could just lock himself in the bathroom.

“Yes, we do,” Derek sounds maddeningly calm, but then again, he’s not the one with an embarrassing crush.  It’s way easier to be calm when you don’t have the crush, or so Spencer would assume.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Spencer says, looking at Derek’s feet.  “I don’t know what else there is to say.  I’ll stay quiet and leave you alone.”

“Spencer, you’re my friend.  I understand that I made you uncomfortable, but I don’t want you to be dodging me for the rest of the time we’re at the B.A.U.” Derek says, trying to make eye contact with him. 

“Wait, what?” Spencer says, blinking.  It’s not right that Derek is worrying about having made him uncomfortable.  “Why would you think that you made me uncomfortable?”

Derek sighs and scratches his neck.  “Spencer, I spooned you while we were asleep.  I know you were awake for at least part of it.  It was an accident, but you’ve been jumpy ever since.”

Great, Derek thinks this all is his fault.  That means that he hasn’t figured out about Spencer’s stupid crush yet.

Spencer _could_ always let him keep thinking it’s his fault.  Shrug it off like it’s no big deal and Derek would never know about him.  It would be so much easier.  No rejection.

“Derek…” Spencer starts, crossing his arms tightly.  He doesn’t want to start fidgeting uncontrollably.  “It wasn’t your fault.  It was mine.  I didn’t do it on purpose, but I must’ve scooted backwards against you because I have, uh, feelings for you.  It’s why I wanted to sleep on the couch in the first place.  To keep something like this from happening.”

Derek takes a step forward, tilting his head like he had problems hearing him.  “Come again?”

Spencer presses his lips together and swallows hard.  He can feel that his voice is trying to pitch high and desperate like it always does when he’s upset, but he’s trying to keep it under control.  It’s just been so long since he’s felt vulnerable like this, and he hates it. 

“You heard me,” Spencer says.  “But it’s just a dumb crush.  I’ll be over it soon.”

He sounds unconvincing, Spencer is sure.  Probably because he knows it’ll take a while to get over Derek, especially if he keeps looking at him with those soft, concerned eyes.  But there’s no need to let Derek know that. 

“You don’t have to get over it,” Derek says. 

Spencer snorts.  “Derek, I’m not going to, I don’t know, pine after you pathetically.  I get that you’re trying to be cool about it, but you really don’t have to.  I’ll be fine.”

Derek approaches him, invading his personal space, and Spencer backs up until he bumps into the bed. 

“I meant that I feel the same way,” Derek says.

Spencer shakes his head.  “You don’t have to do that.  Please don’t.”

“What?”  Derek asks, confused.

“Don’t pretend that you feel the same way because you think it’s nicer.  I’m a big boy, Derek.  I can handle rejection,” Spencer says. 

“You think I’m lying to you?” Derek asks.

Spencer nods, wishing there was a little more space between them.  “Well, yeah.  You’re trying to let me down easily.”

“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t figure it out until yesterday.  When I woke up and I was holding you, I realized that I enjoyed it.  You made something click,” Derek says.  He sounds so genuine, but Spencer can’t believe it.  “Trust me- I don’t usually fall for someone so hard.”

Spencer frowns, looking at Derek for any signs that he’s lying.  It sounds too good to be true, but Derek looks earnest.

Derek reaches forward with a hand and cups Spencer’s cheek.  He moves slowly, and Spencer has plenty of time to duck or push Derek away, but he doesn’t think he can move.  There’s no mistaking the way that Derek is looking at him.

When Derek starts to move his body towards him, Spencer figures out how to move his body again and he leans forward.  He’s waiting for Derek to change his mind and pull away, but instead his lips press against Derek’s. 

It’s a slow, careful kiss.  Derek’s lips are surprisingly soft as they move against his, and his hand is callused as he strokes Spencer’s cheek.  Spencer knows he should be doing something with his hands, so he finally settles on balling them in a thin fabric of Derek’s shirt. 

Through the shirt, Spencer can feel Derek’s heart beating faster.  It’s good to know that Spencer isn’t the only one whose heart is racing.  That’s not the kind of reaction that Derek can fake.

They finally pull apart and Spencer can feel that his smile matches Derek’s- small, tentative, and brilliant.  The silence stretches easily between them, a welcome contrast to the awkwardness of the past couple days. 

Derek’s breath is so warm against Spencer’s face; this is a moment that Spencer wants to keep, forever.

“Still think I’m pretending?” Derek asks softly. 

“The evidence is starting to point towards no,” Spencer says. 

Derek’s hand is still on his cheek, stroking gently, and Spencer leans into the touch. 

“I wouldn’t lie to you, especially not about this,” Derek says.  “I care about you.”

Spencer feels the smile on his face growing wider.  “I care about you, too,” and it feels so good to say and be happy about it. 

Derek’s alarm goes off, and he glances over at the couch in irritation.  “That means I have to start getting ready for work, but we’ll definitely do more of this later.”

“Can’t wait,” Spencer says, voice catching in his throat a little. 

Derek leans forward and kisses him again, leaving Spencer breathless before he heads into the bathroom.  Spencer watches him go with a smile on his face.  That conversation went better than he ever had expected it could’ve.


	6. Bliss

Derek is feeling pretty damn good.  Kissing Spencer- twice- had been a good way to start the day.  He can’t believe that Spencer had a crush on him; it makes him smile. 

Walking into the precinct is a whole different affair today.  Yesterday he had been nervous and uncertain, but today there’s a spring in his step.  Maybe he should be a little more nervous considering all that can go wrong when you start kissing coworkers, but it’s _Spencer_.  The kid isn’t about to act unprofessionally or be dramatic. 

“So, I take it you and Spence talked?” JJ asks.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Derek says. 

As much as he likes kissing Spencer, he doesn’t want to talk to anyone else about it.  Not because he’s ashamed or anything, but because they haven’t gone out on a proper date yet or talked about what they’re going to tell the team.  He knows they’ll have to tell Hotch, and that they’ll probably tell the rest of the team eventually, but he wants to talk that over with Spencer before doing anything.

JJ still gives him a grin.  “Spencer came in _whistling_ today, and you seem to be in a much better mood, too.”

“Really?” Derek asks, trying not to grin.  “Spencer was whistling?”

“Oh yeah,” JJ says.  “Some French ballad.  Sounded happy.” 

Derek clears his throat, trying to look casual and not delighted.  “Good for the kid.  Glad that he’s a little happier today.”

“He’s not the only one.  You also seem much happier.  Peppy, even,” JJ says with just a hint of smugness in her voice.

“Peppy?” Derek says, raising an eyebrow and taking a step back.  “I don’t do peppy.”

JJ takes a sip of her coffee and looks up at him with a smile on her face.  “Apparently, you do.”

“I just had a good morning is all.  I’m not _peppy_ ,” Derek says, rolling his eyes. 

“Mhm,” JJ says, clearly unconvinced.  “I’m glad you both had good, totally unrelated, mornings, then.”

“Thanks, JJ,” Derek says, trying to sound the opposite of peppy as he walks by.

JJ reaches out and catches his arm.  “Just… be careful with him, okay?”

Derek squeezes her hand and nods.  “I will be.”

JJ grins and lets him go.  “Then have fun.”

Spencer is sitting in the same corner that he was yesterday when Derek came in, but this time when Spencer looks up at him, he doesn’t look panicked.  Instead, Spencer smiles and makes actual eye contact with him.  He waves at Derek as his face gains the barest tinge of red. 

Derek smiles and waves back.  He’s not sure whether or not to go over there, but then he sees that Hotch is getting ready to gather the team up.  There’s no point in going over to talk to Spencer, in that case. 

It ends up being another long day tracking leads.  They’re all pounding the pavement, and Derek doesn’t see Spencer for the rest of the day.  He considers texting Spencer around lunchtime, but the kid is terrible with his phone, so Derek just figures he can wait until later.  They’ll have plenty of time alone later, after all. 

* * *

 

When he gets back to the hotel, Derek is tired, but he’s more nervous than anything else.  Now they have all night together.  It’s… an exciting prospect.  They can talk and (hopefully) kiss some more. 

He opens the door to their room, unsurprised to see Spencer flicking through the television channels. 

“Hey,” Derek says, closing the door and coming over to the bed. 

“Hi!” Spencer says.  He flicks the television off and looks over at him.  “So… I guess we don’t have to be awkward about the bed tonight?  Or maybe it’s _more_ awkward now that we’re…”  Spencer looks slightly panicked.  “You know.  Whatever.”

Derek sits down beside him, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.  “Look, Spencer, we can take things as fast or slow as you want.  If cuddling up together is too fast, then I’ll sleep on the couch.  No problem.”

“I’m sorry.  It’s just been a long time since I’ve been in a relationship, and I’m nervous about messing this up before it even really begins,” Spencer says, refusing to look at him.

“You don’t have to worry.  You’re not going to mess this up,” Derek says. 

“You might not be surprised to find out that a lot of my relationships have ended because I said something wrong, usually even before they actually got started,” Spencer says.  “I really, _really_ don’t want that to happen with you.”

Derek shifts a little so he’s closer to Spencer.  “Look, I know you.  I like you, awkward parts and all.”

Spencer leans against him, just a little, and Derek takes the initiative to wrap an arm around him.  It feels good, to have Spencer pressed into his side. 

“Thank you.  And for the record, I like you, too.  Ridiculously suave parts and all,” Spencer says with a snort. 

Derek chuckles and presses his lips against Spencer’s cheek.  “I’m glad.”

“We’re, uh, going to have to tell everyone eventually, aren’t we?” Spencer asks, wincing. 

“I think JJ already knows,” Derek says. 

Spencer’s eyes widen.  “Really?”

“Well, she told me to take care of you. I'm not sure why else she'd say that,” Derek says.  “She noticed that we were both happier today than yesterday, and I guess she put the pieces together.”

Spencer smiles a little.   “I'm sure she won't say anything.”

“I wanna take you on a real date before we say anything to anyone.   Once we get back to Virginia, I promise, I'll show you a good time,” Derek says.   “I mean, if you want to.”

 “There's an exhibit on Pre-Columbian cultures opening up at the history museum,” Spencer says hesitantly.

The thought is… surprisingly pleasant.  The exhibit itself might not particularly interest him, but holding Spencer’s hand and listening to him talk certainly does.  He realizes that he’s going to have to start keeping track of when exhibits and weird films are in town if he’s going to be able to properly impress Spencer.  He’s going to have to set an alert or something. 

“Let’s do it,” Derek says.  “Then, we can go out to dinner afterwards.”

Spencer snorts and beams at him.  “Wow, you really do like me.”

The way Spencer says stuff like that bothers Derek.  Sure, it’s a self-deprecating joke, but there’s just a hint of real surprise in Spencer’s voice.  He does the same thing with the rest of the team, too.

Derek leans forward and presses his mouth to Spencer’s firmly.  He wants Spencer to feel how genuine he is.

Spencer rests his hands on Derek’s shoulders, seeming a little less hesitant than before.  Eventually, he cups Derek’s cheek with a warm hand.  His fingers curl just so against Derek’s neck and his thumb brushes over Derek’s cheekbone, tracing it carefully.

Derek adjusts the angle and pulls Spencer a little closer.  He loves how Spencer kisses, carefully but thoroughly.  It’s so Spencer, and it’s so effective.  If they were standing up, Derek would probably be weak in the knees. 

“You’re such a good kisser,” Derek murmurs, still close enough to Spencer to feel his breath on his lips.  “Damn, pretty boy.”

“It’s a matter of keeping track of what stimuli elicits what reaction,” Spencer says.

“If I pulled you into my lap, would that be too much?” Derek asks.

“Nope,” Spencer says, and Derek can see the smile in his eyes.

Spencer makes a happy noise in the back of his throat as Derek pulls him into his lap.  The weight feels right and Derek could definitely get used to this. 

Derek had forgotten how much fun it was to just sit and lazily make out with someone.  Not just someone- Spencer.  Someone he knows and trusts and cares for, and someone who really knows him, too.

Honestly, this is bliss.

* * *

 

That night, after they order room service and get into their pajamas, they climb into bed together.  Spencer had flatly refused his offer to take the couch again, pointing out that he had spent pretty much the entire night in his lap anyway.

“You’re a genius,” Derek says, teasing him as he turns his light off.

“I know,” Spencer says easily as he copies Derek. 

Spencer has relaxed as the night has gone on, which makes Derek glow somewhere inside.  He helped Spencer relax and feel at ease.

It takes a few minutes to find a position that’s comfortable.  Spencer’s hair keeps getting in his nose and their legs keep knocking against each other uncomfortably.  But they whisper suggestions and nudge each other into positions that are more comfortable for them both.

“Goodnight, pretty boy,” Derek murmurs, pressing his lips to Spencer’s shoulder. 

“G’night, Derek,” Spencer replies quietly.

This time, Derek gets to savor the feeling of Spencer in his arms.  There’s nothing to worry about except the fact that Spencer isn’t falling asleep.  Even that isn’t really a worry- he’s probably enjoying this just as much as Derek is. 

He’s so grateful that the hotel was too full for them to have their own rooms.  Otherwise, Spencer never would’ve said anything, and it probably would have been forever until Derek realized his own feelings. 

Eventually, Spencer’s breathing evens out and Derek feels himself starting to succumb to sleep, too.  This is a beginning, Derek realizes as he finds Spencer’s hand to hold.  There will be so many more nights where they’ll be cuddled together like this.  His heart thuds happily at the thought before he finally falls asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who read this fic, but most especially those who left such kind comments!! I never know what to say individual because I am asghdjfkl hella awkward, but just know that I squealed happily multiple times over each and every one. You guys are too kind, honestly!


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